The present invention relates generally to a firearm sight and, more particularly, to a sight assembly having multiple independent oculars or sights.
Fire arm sight assemblies generally include an ocular or sight that is attached to the firearm to assist the shooter with aligning the bore of the firearm with an intended target. Commonly, the shooter adjusts either the sight relative to the firearm, or the orientation of the sight relative to the target, to accommodate different shooting conditions. For example, if a projectile will be subjected to a crossing wind during the travel of the projectile to the target, the shooter can lateral translate the sight relative to the bore of the firearm, or simply aim the firearm at a sight that is offset from an intended projectile impact area. These variations in lateral alignment of the sight and/or the firearm with the intended target are commonly referred to as windage adjustments.
Another type of alignment adjustment the shooter must accommodate is an inclination of declination of the firearm relative to the target to accommodate the differences between the generally linear sighting path and the occasionally more curved projectile path. For targets at close range, this is generally a negligible consideration for most shooters as the projectile will follow a substantially linear path. This becomes a greater consideration for accurate shooting as the target is moved further from the firearm. In such situations, the shooter must adjust the orientation of the sight relative to the firearm or sight the firearm generally above an intended impact area. Adjusting the orientation of the sight relative to the firearm manipulates the association between the line of sight and the projectile path such that the two lines cross at the intended impact area. Aiming above a target accommodates the arcing path of the projectile such that the projectile strikes the desired impact area even though the firearm sight indicates an elevated impact area.
Regardless of the shooting technique, alignment of the sight with the firearm or estimating the degradation of the projectile path to be able to repeatedly hit an intended target is much more a skill based on experience than the simply mechanical act of firing a projectile from a firearm. Accurate shooting at various ranges under varied conditions is a skill that few shooters master. The ability to accurately hit a target is complicated by both the ambient conditions and the range between the shooter and the target. Although many adjustable gun sights are available, accurate shooting with such sights is heavily dependent on the shooters ability to orient the sight relative to the firearm to strike the intended target. Accordingly, it is desired to provide a firearm sight that can quickly and repeatably align the firearm with an intended target.
The problems associated with the aiming of the firearm mentioned above are magnified as the operable range of the firearm increases. Small misalignments of the firearm relative to a distant target will yield unintended or undesired impacts. High-power firearms, such as a .50 caliber firearm, have the potential to accurately deliver a projectile generally in a range of approximately 2000 yards or approximately 1830 meters. Coupled with the ability to deliver various projectile types such as armor-piercing rounds, incendiary munitions, and explosive rounds, such firearms are an invaluable deterrent to malevolent activities. The ability to accurately deliver projectiles throughout the operable range of such firearms provides the additional advantage of maintaining a spacing between the intended target and the shooter thereby providing a degree of protection for the shooter from debris or other projectiles which may originate from the target independently or as a result of the impact of the shooters projectile.
Understandably, efficient utilization of such high-power firearms depends heavily on the ability to quickly and efficiently train new shooters in the shooting characteristics of such firearms. Depending on a given shooters prior experience, even with the assistance of known shooting aids, the ability to train a shooter to accurately acquire and fire upon a variety of targets within a 2000 yard operating range of a firearm can be a time consuming and expensive endeavor. Accordingly, it would also be desirable to provide a firearm sight assembly that is simple to use and whose operation can be quickly understood.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method for providing a firearm sight assembly that is easy to operate and capable of quickly and accurately aligning the firearm projectile path with targets at varying ranges.